Discouraged

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BWBrew

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
I've recently started having problems in my brewing and I'm looking for some ideas. As you all know a lot of time and effort goes into crafting a batch of home brew. So to have it not turn out is very frustrating.

I've been brewing for 5 years with the last 2 being BIAB. Up to this point the BIAB batches have been really good until the last three. In each of these batches I've started to notice a hint of off flavors. I'm having a hard time placing the taste but I think it's closest to a trub like taste. My last batch again had the trub like flavors but to go along with that had a very strong metallic aroma.

I use a Speidel fermentor with the chrome spigot. After some google searches I learned that these spigots can have the chrome wear off over time. So I checked my spigot and sure enough on the inside there is a dark brassy colored spot. I then decided to clean my pot with some bar keepers friend since it was pretty dingy. It came out nice and clean but I'm now picking up a slight metallic odor from the pot. It's stainless but I'm not sure what grade. The odd thing too is the bottom of the pot that touches the burner has some rust spots on it. But there is no rust on the inside. It wasn't an expensive pot by any means and not specifically for brewing. Bought at a kitchen supply store for about $80.

So to try and remedy my problems on my next batch I'm going to skip the chrome spigot and instead use a plastic one. Use bottled water instead of tap water. And I'm only going to let the wort sit in the primary for as long as it takes to get to final gravity. I was previously letting it ferment for three weeks. I'm thinking this might be the source of the trub off flavor with the water possibly contributing as well.

As for the metallic aroma. Is my pot shot? Should I look to get a new one or is there a way to remedy this? Plus I'm still not 100% sure if it's the pot or spigot that's giving the metal odor.

Any feedback or comments will be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
BKF will fry any iron it runs into, and that could easily cause a metallic aroma, moreso if the BKF/fried iron isn't thoroughly removed.
When I use BKF on my kettles I follow it with a quick wash using unscented dishwashing detergent as otherwise there always seems to be a BKF haze remaining.

The rust marks where the kettle rests on your burner could be from the burner or could be where abrasion from the burner removed the protective chromium oxide layer thus allowing exposed iron particles to rust. Either way, hit that with BKF and it'll be fine.

I don't know how to characterize "trub" flavor so I'll leave that for others to help with...

Cheers!
 
Were the beers with off flavors a different recipe/style than the rest? Beers with less adjunct malts increase flaws in your water profile and other processes. Darker beers usually hide them better. In my lighter colored beers, I get a trub like harshness when my water is too high in sodium. It can also make the metallic "green" taste stand out more in a young beer. Which sucks when you want to drink a fresh ipa as soon as possible. Have you tasted the wort before and after the boil?
 
All three beers were different styles. An IPA, saison and Belgian red. I haven't made adjustments to my water so that could contribute. The samples I tasted did have a slight trub off taste. But the Belgian which was the most recent was the first with the metallic aroma and flavor.
 
Good luck, im sure you will figure it out. For the longest time i couldnt brew an ipa for the life of me. They all had that "homebrew/metal" after taste and muted hops. Ended up being my water. Still not sure whether it was ph or minerals, because i adjusted both on the brew that fixed the issue. It was frustrating for sure.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Thanks, I think it's a combo of my water (tap) and my equipment. You're right I'll get it.
 
Back
Top